Global Efforts for Sustainable Development

1. Global Efforts for Sustainable Development M.C. Andrea Zavala

2. “Sustainable Development – is development that meets the needs of the present without compro-mising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

3. Historical Background • UN Conference on Environment and Development, or the 1992 Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro – unanimously adopted Agenda 21, a blueprint for sustainable development. • Millennium Development Goals – UN General Assembly resolution 55/2, outlined 8 targets aimed at reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development. • World Summit on Sustainable Development – reaffirmed the commitment to Agenda 21 and Millennium Development Goals

4. Pillars of Sustainable Development • Economic Development – poverty eradication • Social Development – active participation of women; education; good governance • Environmental Protection – prevent environmental degradation and patterns of unsustainable development At the local, national, regional, and global levels

5. Economic Development • Poverty eradication • Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the world’s people with income less than $1/day • Basic health services for all, reduce health threats • Increase food availability • Combat desertification, mitigate effects of drought and floods • Provision of clean drinking water • Enhance industrial productivity

6. Changing Unsustainable Patterns of Consumption and Production • Cleaner production technologies • Developing cleaner, more efficient energy technologies • Maintain urban air quality and health, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions • Sound management of chemicals throughout their life cycle, and of hazardous wastes

7. Protecting the Natural Resource Base of Economic & Social Development • Prevent water pollution to reduce health hazards and protect ecosystems • Watershed and groundwater management • Support desalination of seawater, water recycling • Ensure the sustainable development of oceans, marine environmental protection

8. Action Agenda – Focus on Five Key Thematic Areas Priority areas for action, identified by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan: • Water and sanitation • Energy • Health • Agriculture • Biodiversity protection and ecosystem management

9. Water and Sanitation “Water is not only the most basic of needs but is also at the center of sustainable development.” • Around 1.2 billion people still have no access to clean drinking water • Around 2.4 billion people do not have adequate sanitation.

10. Water and Sanitation Some key issues: • Prevent water pollution to reduce health hazards • Protect ecosystems • Introduce technologies for affordable sanitation, industrial and domestic wastewater treatment • River basin, watershed and groundwater management • Support desalination of seawater, water recycling • Marine environmental protection - oceans, seas, islands and coastal areas are essential components of the Earth’s ecosystem

11. Energy Some key issues: • Focus on access to energy in rural areas • Energy conservation and energy efficiency – building design & management, better mass transportation, advanced and innovative cleaner technologies • Promotion of renewable energy • Action on climate change – ratification by countries of the Kyoto Protocol

12. Health “Good health is vital for eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development.” Some key issues: • Reduce mortality rates in 2015: by 66.7% for children & infants under 5; by 75% for maternal mortality rates • Control & eradicate communicable diseases, reduce HIV prevalence, combat malaria, tuberculosis • Ensure that chemicals are not used and produced in ways that harm human health • Reduce air pollution • Improve developing countries’ access to environmentally sound alternatives to ozone depleting chemicals

13. Agriculture “Agriculture is central to sustainable development. About 70% of the poor in developing countries live in rural areas and depend in one way or another on agriculture for their survival.” Some key issues: • Address serious soil fertility problems • Diversification of crops • Increase water-use productivity • Apply R&D to increase productivity in crops and livestock

14. Biodiversity & Ecosystem Management “Biodiversity and the ecosystems they support are the living basis of sustainable development.”

15. Biodiversity & Ecosystem Management Some key issues: • Significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 • Reverse the trend in natural resource degradation • Restore fisheries to their maximum sustainable yields • Protection of the marine environment from land based sources of pollution